IBM's Eclipse-flavored spin of the OpenOffice.org productivity suite undergoes a major update under the covers, moving up from the 1.x version on which it was originally based to sync up with Version 3.x of the open-source project. Now that Symphony and OpenOffice.org are on a more equal footing, it's less clear which of the two suites has the best claim to the title of chief Microsoft Office rival. Symphony's Eclipse-based interface appears to offer better opportunities for extensibility-a quality that could give IBM's product the edge. What's more, Lotus Symphony 3.0 offers improved interoperability both with Microsoft Office, in the form of modest VBA macro support in spreadsheets, and with OpenOffice.org, in the form of support for that suite's OpenDocument Format Version 1.2. For organizations interested in keeping their office suite options open, Lotus Symphony 3.0 is well worth evaluating alongside OpenOffice.org. For a look at Lotus Symphony 3.0 in action, check out the slide gallery below, and be sure to read our full review here.

As Editor in Chief of eWEEK Labs, Jason Brooks manages the Labs team and is responsible for eWEEK's print edition. Brooks joined eWEEK in 1999, and has covered wireless networking, office productivity suites, mobile devices, Windows, virtualization, and desktops and notebooks. Jason's coverage is currently focused on Linux and Unix operating systems, open-source software and licensing, cloud computing and Software as a Service. Follow Jason on Twitter at jasonbrooks, or reach him by email at jbrooks@eweek.com.